My Pure Pop Top Ten Of The Year List
by Jason Cooley
Well, it was a better year for me this year than it was last year. That acne problem that kept threatening to explode on my face finally just packed up and went away to wreck some other kid’s complexion. Whew! Sophomore year has been a lot cooler to me than Freshman year, that’s for sure. On to the list…
(in no particular order)
Depeche Mode, Violator
This record is just killer, man. I know people talk a lot of shit about Depeche Mode, but Music For The Masses was a pretty great album and this one is even better, especially for the one-two punch of “Blue Dress” and “Clean” at the end. The CD single extended mix of “Personal Jesus” is awesome, too. 95 Triple XXX had this stupid thing where they put two new songs up against each other and people call in to vote for which one is good/bad. “Personal Jesus” went up against “Cherry Pie” by Warrant. Guess who won? Some dumb redneck chick said the breath-break on “Jesus” was “gay”.
Faith No More, The Real Thing
Where the fuck did this album come from? The CD says it came out last year, which is weird. “Epic” is already a goddamn…well, epic song, but then the rest of the album is epic, too. There’s a fantastic instrumental at the end called “Woodpecker From Mars” that blows my mind. I made a mixtape for this girl I’m trying to steal from my best friend and I’m having a hard time deciding which tune should close it out: “Woodpecker” or “Clean” from the aforementioned Violator. Apparently Anthony Keidis is angry with them for stealing his band’s funk-metal stylings. I keep forgetting that the Chili Peppers invented funk when they were swimming in their daddy’s balls.
Jane’s Addiction, Ritual de lo Habitual
Goddamn! Finally, the new Jane’s comes out a few days after my 17th birthday! What an album! After I got it I took it over to my buddy Chris Lentz’ house and we listened to it on his back porch, particularly marveling at side two. The “erotic Jesus” part of “Three Days” had us rocking our asses off, happily.
Fugazi, Repeater
The new tape by Fugazi is just plain fucking awesome and that’s that. Nobody can or will deny it. “Shut The Door” and “Blueprint” are just…oh God help me.
Pixies, Doolittle, Bossanova, Here Comes Your Man CD single
So after a few months of trying to figure out who plays that “Wave all through the nation” song I taped off of WRUV last year, a TV ad for the new movie Pump Up The Volume had the song! I took the bus to Pure Pop to look at the soundtrack and there it was: “Wave Of Mutilation (U.K. Surf)” by The Pixies! Yay! A new band to get into. I initially ignored them because Rolling Stone kept pushing them on me, but alas, I have found The Pixies and they are great! Bossanova is their new tape and I listen to it a lot in my room with only Christmas lights on. It makes my room look like the cover. Fuck, everything this band does is awesome. They’re kinda edging Jane’s out of their position as my favorite active band…
Public Enemy, Fear Of A Black Planet
Wow, this tape is fucking insane! Some of it is impenetrable. It’s just soooo fucking dense. It came with a little fold out page with all of the rhymes. Jesus, Chuck D. is the greatest rapper alive. It starts with the holy fuck “Brothers Gonna Work It Out” (I wonder what 1995 is going to be like) and ends with “Fight The Power.” God fucking DAMN.
Sinead O’Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
I kind of fell in love with her last year when she sang “Mandinka” at the Grammys with the PE logo shaved into the side of her head, but when I saw the premiere of the video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” on 120 Minutes, wow. I really fell in love with her. Gorgeous, so gorgeous, especially her eyes. Mmmmmmm. Here I am, 16 years old, crying to a Prince cover. The rest of the album is pretty great, too.
Sonic Youth, Goo
Well, they’re on a major label now: Geffen. We’ll see how long that lasts. I don’t like Goo as much as Daydream Nation, but it’s still on the fantastic side of things. My favorite song off of this so far is “Disappearer”. It reminds me of when I lived in Manchester, NH and would ride my bike around various tall apartment complexes on overcast days. The video for “Dirty Boots” is pretty funny. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see them live.
The Velvet Underground, ALL
Last year I got New York by Lou Reed and dug it a whole helluva lot. I did some reading up on him and found this band he used to be in called The Velvet Underground. Everything is starting to make instant sense now. I know where so many bands are coming from, what inspired them, etc. It was this! Luckily, all their tapes are cheap as hell. I asked for them all for Christmas and got them except for Loaded, which I’m getting next. What an amazing band! How did I not pick up on them earlier instead of listening to all that hair metal? Fuck. I don’t really know where to begin with all of this, but I can say that “Sweet Jane” is now probably my favorite song of all time (it’s on a greatest hits thing). I’m still trying to figure out: is their drummer a boy or a girl? I honestly feel bad for not being able to tell.
Wild At Heart, Twin Peaks Soundtracks
This year has been the year of David Lynch. After four years of silence after Blue Velvet, he’s just suddenly all over the place. First Twin Peaks came along in April (on TV!!!) and rocked my fucking world weekly, and then Wild At Heart showed up in August to blow every movie I’ve seen so far this year out of the fucking water. The music is great, too. Angelo Badalamenti is a fantastic composer. The Twin Peaks soundtrack is creepy and awkward at times, but in a totally good way. The Wild At Heart soundtrack has some of his stuff, but also Chris Isaak’s AWESOME “Wicked Game”, Koko Taylor (she’s even in the movie! Wow…), Them! (with Van Morrison), and even some speed metal by a band called Powermad (they’re in the movie as well). Go, angriest dog in the world. Go.
11. Madonna, Justify My Love
It’s hard to talk about the song without talking about the video so fuck it, I won’t even try. Me and my friends heard this on the radio on our way to school on one cold fall morning, and I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but I wanted to beat off so bad for the rest of the day. Sexxxxxxxxxy sexy sex-sex. Then the video came out. Creeeeeeeepppy creepy creep-creep. Why does Madonna always hang out with douchebags (with the exception of Sean Penn)? This Tony guy looks like he got rejected from The Village People for looking too weird. But yeah, Madonna: SEX.
NSFW.
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mother’s Milk
I know this came out last year, but the Peppers came to play live in Burlington at Patrick Gym with the Violent Femmes in April. Personally, I thought the Femmes made the Peppers look like a bunch of poseurs, except for John Frusciante. Everything out of Keidis’ mouth was rehearsed. “I must be in Rome…cuz you all look like a bunch of Gods!” What am I, at a fucking Whitesnake concert? The high point of their set was Frusciante playing “Tiny Dancer” between songs. The Femmes played every song from their first album except for “Good Feeling”. They were just great. This should really be a Violent Femmes record, but they didn’t come out with one this year.
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Honorable mentions:
Bob Mould, Black Sheets Of Rain
Iggy Pop, Brick By Brick
The Soup Dragons, Lovegod
Living Colour, Time’s Up*
House Party, soundtrack
*I really feel I should let you know that in hindsight, this record should actually be on the Dishonorable list. One of my biggest regrets as a music fan was being duped into singing along to the chorus of “Elvis Is Dead” when they played at Memorial Auditorium in 1991. I was a PC alt-rock sheepdick that night, and if I could go back in time I’d rip both myself and those guys a new asshole. What an insipid, ignorant, and race-baiting song that was. Since then I’ve learned that good music is good music and shitty music is shitty music no matter what the color of your skin is. The story of Elvis Presley is one of the most uplifting, saddest, and emotionally complex stories ever told. The story of Living Colour? They played crappy metal versions of James Brown and Talking Heads classics, sued the TV comedy show In Living Color for trademark infringement (that’s some solidarity, yo) and finally broke up when everybody realized they actually sucked. Now it’s reunion money gigs. People are still buying Elvis records. Living Colour records? Stick it up your Stain, Vernon.
Dishonorable mentions:
Vanilla Ice, To The Extreme
Prince, Graffiti Bridge
Roger Waters and Various Artists, The Wall Live In Berlin
INXS, X
Gerardo, Mo’ Ritmo
20 Years Later:
1. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening
and in no particular order:
2. Jay-Z, Decoded (yes, it’s a book.)
3. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
4. Girl Talk, All Day
5. OFF!, First Four EPs
6. Curren$y, Pilot Talk
7. Chemical Brothers, Further
8. Ariel Pink, Before Today
9. Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record
10. M.I.A., /\/\/\Y/\
11. Gorillaz, Plastic Beach
12. The Sword, Warp Riders
13. Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
14. Four Tet, There Is Love In You
15. Caribou, Swim
Josh Friedman is a pure pop regular, creator of brittle, blackened sludge noise, family man and educator. His taste in music is some of the most truly underground you’ll find. Her are his “Tops of 10″ – Apparently in no particular order
Sun City Girls-Funeral Mariachi
These guys are such an institution, I won’t even attempt to write anything about them. This album is wonderful
Endless Boogie-Full Head House
Top Dollar and the gang are back again and if you know these men from before it’s more of the same. Big chooglin’ riffs, growling vocals, and jam after jam after jam. It’s like the last 40 years never even happened.
Satan’s Satyr-demo cs
Duo from Virginia that brings blackened thrash metal with some psych/Stooges worship. Big downer vibes on this one, but you can’t help but nod your head.
Personal and the Pizzas-Raw Pie
Jersey’s finest, the equation is simple Ramones + Stooges + Weird Al + Pizza= Personal and the Pizzas.
Blood Brothers-First Blood Mix
Two guys mixed together the best songs and dialogue from all those awesome 80s movies that involve some young punk who gets his act together to kick some major ass. If you’re a male of a certain vintage this will warm your heard during these cold winter months. This has been the soundtrack to my family’s life for the past couple of months. It’s only a download:
http://www.movieviral.com/2010/10/03/blood-brothers-first-blood-80s-action-movie-mixtape-will-fight-you-to-the-death/
Buckingham/Nicks-s/t
This did not come out in this century and (unfortunately) has not been reissued, but I finally discovered it. It could have possible the worst album cover of all time, but the jams contained herein are gold. Summery tunes that have a bit of darkness around the edges, you can see why the mighty Mac picked these two.
Frieder Butzmann-I’m a Seven Inch Single 7″
German kook whose been at this for a while, dropped this little slice of heaven earlier this year. It tells about the life of a seven inch single. The backside is what else, a dreary lament about being the backside of a seven inch single and not “Nicole Kidman’s backside.”
White Fence s/t lp
This guy managed to cram a boatload of late sixties psych on this lp. It’s a ton of fun to listen to.
Umberto “Prophecy of the Black Widow” lp
This guy managed to cram a boatload of Goblin/Carpenter love on this lp. It’s spooooooky.
Garbo’s Daughter demo cs
The hottest thing since Cher went solo.
No Balls-everything
From the ashes of the Brainbombs comes No Balls. Tight pummeling riffs that wash over you again and again. If you like drone, but sometimes think things should be heavier, check these Swedes out.
Here is our third and final installment of Pure Pop’s Intro to Witch House. We’ve discussed the origins of the genre, the top labels, and now we get to what’s really important–the music. In this section, we’ll review some essential Witch House releases, as well as discuss some recent/soon-to-be-released albums that are likely to become major works of the genre.
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ESSENTIAL RELEASES
While the genre is still incredibly young, and the majority of Witch House releases have been online singles/remixes, there are still a handful of key releases that have helped to define its sound:
SALEM – “Yes I Smoke Crack” & “Water” EPs (2008, Acephale/2009, Merok)
Arguably the albums that started it all)
V/A – “Dark as Night” (2009, Bathetic)
Introduced acts such oOoOO, SLEEP ∞ OVER, TERMINAL TWILIGHT & S U R V I V E). Originally released in 2009, repressed in 2010 and immediately sold out.
White Ring /oOoOO – “Split 7” (2010, Emotion)
While both acts had solo EPs of their own earlier this year (White Ring’s “Suffocation” on Hi-Score and oOoOO’s “No Summr4u” CDR on Disaro), this 7” split release garnered the most attention, containing one standout track from each artist per side.
///▲▲▲\\\ (aka “Void”, aka ///HORSE MACGUYVER\\\) –“///▲▲▲\\\” CD-R (2010, Disaro). Definitely one of the more bizarre offerings from the Witch House scene this year, this EP is an eclectic mix of weird, pitch shifted noise combined with tape loops, industrial percussive effects, haunting effected vocal samples and warped synth riffs. Definitely will appeal more to the avant-garde/noise crowd than some of the other albums listed.
▲ (aka “Black Pyramid”) – “Pyramid/Sphinx” (2010, self-released). The two tracks that make up this vague EP were pulled from MySpace downloads offered up by the artist and became one of the more popular non-release releases of 2010. A very atmospheric and dark sound, even for this genre, heavy with digital synthesizers reminiscent of early Oneohtrix Point Never.
V/A – “Let Me Shine For You” (2010, Tri Angle)
This free online album is actually a mixtape of remixes of Lindsay Lohan songs by artists Babe Rainbow, Laurel Halo, Autre Ne Veut, oOoOO, Stalker and Oneohtrix Point Never. As bizarre as the concept sounds, it’s one of my favorite albums of the year. It also further highlights Witch House’s bizarre, not-so-ironic love affair with highly-produced, glossy pop music.
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2010 UPCOMING RELEASES
2010 is shaping up to be a big year for Witch House. The wealth of attention that has been lavished on the genre has put big pressure on artists and labels to live up to their hyped promise. For the most part, from what I’ve heard thus far, I’d say they’re not only living up to the hype but exceeding it.
1) Balam Acab – “See Birds” (Tri Angle; released August 31st, sold out immediately; repress happening now)
One of the breakout artists of 2010 is undoubtably Balam Acab, aka Alec Koone, a 19 year old (!) college student from Ithaca, NY. He released his first single, “See Birds”, on his MySpace page earlier this year and it immediately caught fire, becoming one of the top underground jams of the summer.
Released to near universal acclaim last month, his EP of the same is one the most heartbreakingly beautiful albums of the year. Featuring heavily-effected vocal samples (reportedly mainly appropriated from YouTube clips) layered over staccato guitar riffs and atmospheric synths, the album shows a huge range of influences, from screwed hip-hop to freak folk to eastern drone. I was completely blown away by this EP (as were reviewers across the globe) and expect huge things out of the full-length that is sure to follow.
2) SALEM – “King Night” (IAMSOUND, due out September 28th)
While this crew is arguably the granddaddies of the genre, they are just now releasing their first full length album entitled “King Night”. While I have been impressed by nearly everything I heard from this band (including the eponymous pre-release single), I have to admit I was incredibly nervous about whether this album would live up to expectations, especially after their disastrous performance at this year’s SXSW festival, where they were reportedly booed off the stage (link to YouTube videos)
However, as is the case in this wonderful technological age, the entire “King Night” album was leaked on the internet shortly after the first part of this feature was written….and it is incredible. The album captures the band at their best, in every aspect of what they do, whether it’s floaty dreamscapes like “Frost”, “Traxx” or the Sonic Youth-esque album closer “Killer”, demented chopped-and-screwed hip hop tracks like “Sick”, “Trapdoor” or “Tair”, or epic genre-bending symphonic compositions like “King Night” or “Hound”. Truly a masterpiece that is not to be missed.
3) oOoOO – “oOoOO” (Tri Angle, due October 4th)
This self-titled album is the first full-length from another one of the founders of the Witch House scene. Many of the tracks listed to on the album already exist on other EPs or as online singles, so time will tell if this is simply a collection of existing tracks or if they have been re-recorded and reinvented (as Salem did with “Redlights” for “King Night”)
4) Modern Witch – “Disaro” (Disaro, released March 2010)
This full-length from the otherwise impressive Modern Witch was a let-down for me. Seeing as it was one of the first Witch House LPs released this year, they unfortunately didn’t see the competition that would be coming in the next six months, and the other albums listed just leave this one in the dust. While the tracks show a lot of promise, they really just sound like incomplete demos, the skeletons of what could have been otherwise great songs had they been given a bit more production value and development.
Well, that will do it for our spotlight on the wonderful world of Witch House. If the genre and artists sound interesting to you, I highly recommend that you stop into Pure Pop to pick up these new albums when they are officially released on CD (or even better, vinyl. Mmmmm…….witch house vinyl……..)
(Jay Blanchard is the founder of MARS PYRAMID Records, an experimental record label run out of Burlington, VT. He also performs as VIKOMT).
So i thought i’d get the ball rolling as most of us Pure Poppers tend to avoid responsibility like the plague. Instead of a top 5, or top 10, i opted for a mixtape. Or, as it’s been adapted for the web, a podcast. My mix, as with my listenings this past year leans heavily on the side of post-shoegaze / baleric / dream-pop.
2008 was a rough one and i suppose in the lean years people need their escapism. Here’s a sampling of mine.
M83 – Couleurs // Released on this years excellent nostalgic-for-pop-culture “Saturdays = Youth”. Couleurs took the M83 sound of epic synthetic crescendos and reconfigured it for the dancefloor. I’m surprised Gonzolas hadn’t thought of this sooner. The only problem with leading of a mix with a track like this is where to go next.
Air France – Collapsing at your Doorstep // Over the last few years people have been talking about the Gottenberg sound. Groups like The Tough Alliance, El Perro Del Mar, Studio and Air France have been quietly defining a scene, and this year’s “No Way Down EP” has been coming up on top of the pile, and it’s very well deserved.
A Sunny Day in Glasgow – No. 6 Van Karmen Street // This one was released a couple years ago, but’s been slowly building steam through the interwebs and indie- record stores and i just had to add it to my year end comp on the strength of it’s lovely combination of post-shoegaze, twee, and early 90′s brit-club.
Tim Hecker – Chimeras // I had the amazing chance to go and see Tim Hecker and Christian Fennesz live in Montreal (Ben Frost as well, who held his own) and was absolutely blown away by their performances. This track appeared on 2006′s Harmony in Ultraviolet, and while i’ve been waiting patiently for his next masterpiece (An Imaginary Country, Feb 09) Harmony as well as his backcatalog (including his Jetone work) have been more than satisfying, especially through these longer winter months.
Burial – Etched Headplate // It’s a testimate to how flatout untouchable it is that more than a year on, i’m still listening to Untrue, on a regular, sometimes daily basis. It came out last year right around the same time everyone was making their year end lists, and i think for alot of folks, it took a while for them to absorb – and because of that, and my undying love for this album, i’m including a track from it again here.
Studio – West Side // Another Gottenberg alumn, this from 2007′s Yearbook 1, a catchy collection of singles featuring factory-records-era stacatto guitars, latin drumming and krauty rhythms. This year saw the release of their Yearbook 2 release, a collection of excellent remixes, though i’ve gotta say i prefer the original studio work off of this earlier outing.
Crystal Castles – Magic Spells // 2008 saw the emergence of the 8bit sound into the mainstream, and at the for-front (and not without a little controversy) was the Crystal Castles – While inconsistant at times, their debute was nontheless a pretty killer combo of punk and dance all filtered through taxed and tortured 8bit processors.
Fennesz – Caecilia // This one’s going way back there to Endless Summer – and yes, i know Fennesz had a new album come out in 2008 (Black Sea) , and yes, it’s brilliant – but i had to include this one on this mix cause A) when he played it in Montreal i think i might have had my one and only transendent experience of 2008 and B) it just works in the context of the mix. nuff said.
Menace Ruine – Dismantling // From 2008′s “The Die is Cast” – Black Metal / Doom-gaze / darkfolk duo from some dark place outside of Quebec City, I’ve been trying to get them to come down over the border and do a show here in Burlington but apparently they don’t get out much. Go figure. This track is to me, a pefect confection of Sleep, Slowdive and Fairport Convention. I bet you can’t wait to hear it now.
The Field – Kappsta 2 // From Kompakts Pop Ambient 2008, The field rips it up with another killer track of movement in statis, and yep – i think Kate’s back in the mix. If you’re like me and couldn’t get enough of “From here we go Sublime” make sure you track down the excellent “Sound of Light” EP.
Paavorharju – Tuoksu Tarttuu Meihin // Easily my favorite album from 2008, Paavorharju have created the most startlingly beautiful album i’ve heard since Hecker’s Haunt me Haunt me do it again. And if it wasn’t enough that they will keep you memorized with their subtle blends of radio static, ghostly voices, ancient string arangments and brittle folk, they also have to the good taste to throw in one of best little electo/dance tracks to never hit a dancefloor in 2008. Pick it up, burn a candle, take a walk in the woods - just listen to it.
Cocteau Twins – I Wear Your Ring // No, it isn’t 1990. No we havn’t gone back in time. But i would be lying to myself and to you if i didn’t include a track by the Cocteaus on my year end list. More than anyone else (besides maybe Kate Bush, but that’s another obsession altogether.) The Cocteaus have defined 2008 for me. I don’t know how it happened, but something clicked in my brain, and all of a sudden their gossamer world of shimmering brilliance opened itself to me.
I guess it’s not all that mysterious as why i’m suddenly obsessed with dream pop, take one part Kate Bush, one part love of psychedelia, one part love of all things shoegaze – and there you have it. The 4AD sound.
